In an ideal world, they would have been hard at work in the classroom.
Instead, this Monday (Jan 20, 2025) morning, a mix of temporary and unemployed teachers camped outside the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs offices in Gaborone, desperate to have their voices heard.
All are currently out of work, with government unable to renew their contracts due to lack of funds.
In a peaceful demonstration, the fed-up educators submitted a petition, expressing their long-standing concerns over a lack of employment opportunities and delayed salaries.
Rallying for change, Thabang Kopelo urged the-powers-that-be to treat the matter with the urgency it deserves.
“Most teachers work away from home, meaning they need money for rent, transport and food for groceries. Late payments put teachers in debt as well as the added responsibilities and pressures of being a breadwinner,” explained the former Sekgoma Primary School temp.
To compound their struggles, Kopelo says temporary teachers are often shunned in the workplace and mistreated by their full-time counterparts.
“Some staff members treat temporary teachers as doormats and not colleagues. Someone assigned to enquire about temporary teachers payments will pompously tell you they are busy in the comfort of their offices,” he grumbled.
Sharing her story, Godiramang Modikwa, a temporary teacher at Sekgele Community Junior Secondary School since 2022, revealed she once went three months without being paid.
“We get all sorts of excuses as to why we have not been paid on time. We are mostly told that the system is down or some teachers do not reflect in the system altogether,” said the Guidance and Counselling teacher.
Modikwa describes her treatment as ‘demoralising and dehumanizing’, noting it has plunged her deep into debt with her landlord, all whilst having to travel from her Gaborone home to Sekgele CJSS in Thamaga everyday with very little to show for it.
“Aside from rental and transport we struggle to find money for basic toiletries and clothes. It really is a dehumanising experience,” said Modikwa, adding morale amongst her peers is at an all time low.
On top of the financial strain, the mental pressure is huge.
“Just last month one of our colleagues was admitted to Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital because they were overwhelmed by their situation. It takes its toll on your mental health!”
Speaking on the effect of the current unavailability of temporary teaching staff, Kopelo says the children suffer the most.
“As we speak, there are no temporary teachers in schools, so there is definitely a massive workload on the current teachers now. Students won’t be getting the attention they deserve. These can be contributing factors to the poor results we see every year.”
Another struggling to cope is Ame Badisang, who has spent the last nine years as a temporary teacher for special needs students based in Molepolole.
“The job I do requires a lot of one-on-one attention to special needs students. You end up demotivated because you spend so much time and effort but you don’t get paid enough or on time. One could end up doing the bare minimum or losing steam,” admits Badisang.
“Since there aren’t any temporary teachers right now, special needs classes are going to be dispersed into other classes. A special needs student gets used to having one teacher assigned to them. If every term they are introduced to a new teacher aid they may never get to understand concepts because we all have different methods of teaching,” she added.
Optimistic of a successful resolution, Kopelo praised the new regime for allowing them to express themselves freely through peaceful protests.
“We were well received and engaged by Minister, Pius Mokgware. He assured us that we would receive a response by mid February. We are hopeful that through this new government we can work together to make a change.”